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FOPLSy 67^ CBAMCBftt fJUIS. ♦;.* 1828.. W K: ^. .• V •:Vv:.e:. T« emvERSiiy of i/iiii^ft ^ i ^ »'«> * -> \. ^. *■!' V: '"• . ♦ • .1 . * ' * t '■ '* » .;.;. I tV . • , . 1 '_ • •.'■■ ; . '■ ■-■ , •.■»■ ■•.. .< '.' > .' 'v r '. ;.' •• ',.♦ •■; - ' . .V . .. ? ;.,'^^i'J.U . W,.-.:.t f/:^■•i )f«^V *i *■•! ^ " %, '.'* .• -?* ■:tt ••'.••.;• ■T V: ^ 'v--..:#,.-,; ■ 1 , •■■'■• ■■■ ,A ( ^ .« « .'j "' «■ • -r'VA. «► > 'M V !. ■ s • A LETTER TO JOHN BARROW, Esq. F.R.S. • ■ . ■i. Sir, If what has been rumoured, and even published, be true, to you belongs the credit of havinff re- vived the question of the practicability of a pas- sage for ships between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans ; to you the honour of having |irepat/!e<2 on authorities to equip the late successive naval expe- ditions to put it to the test. C>n the same questionable authority, it has been asserted that articles previously published in the Quarterly Review, explanatory of the author's views of that question, and the reasons (such as they are) which led him to declare his belief of such passage, were written by yon. Other cri- tiques, since {published In that Review, on the same subject, have also been itttributed to yon. As to this report of yon and the writer cf some, or at least of some parts of those articles, being one and the same person, I am Inclined to doubt 4 it, for the honour of the TVtie Blue. For although, properly epeaking. Sir, you are not one of the cloth, yet being officially connected with it, it is a pity you should be made answerable for the ab- surdities of -blundering critics. I am, therefore, disposed to lend you a hand if you will accept it, to help you out of the scrape into which these Re- viewers, and Captain Ptory*8 discoveries together, seem to have gotten you : that is, if you ever have really condescended to lend your pen and the au- thority of your respectable name to those *long shore gentry of the quill. But I say I doubt it, on account of your high reputation among the best judges in the Uterary world, at least (if not in the naval, which produceih none) for "depth of learning and scientific research T and because it may be presumed, that long practice, must have rendered a correct methodical arrangement of ideas, and a consistency in your view of any subject, quite ha- bitual and familiar to you. With such qualifications as these, I am sure you would have displayed as sound a judgment in matters of arctic inquiry as you have proved it to be in African geography. But those qualities ap- pear to me to be so wanting in these articles in the Remw, that if you really did not write them, I would humbly advise you to disavow the whole, for the sake of your share of that posthumous fame, which must be of infinitely more value than the fleeting popularity of the day. For after all, it is but "the eulogy of fools,** and, of course, despised by the wise few. The successive voyages of Ross and Farry, and i :& * especially the third and last^ have gone for to un- dermine the foandation of the flimsy edifice at^ tempted to he raised by theajB critics— to annihi* late by positive experience their '* circumvolving current from West to East** This said current^ they pourtrayed in a pretty little diagram in the Quarterly Review, No. 31; for the information, I suppose, of that abundant class of readers whose eyes are generally brighter than their understand- ings, on Much subjects. It has been minutely de- scribed, and repeatedly pressed on the notice of the public, in that popular vehicle of sound doc- trine. / wish as particularly to press it on yours^ by quoting some of the passages where it is men- tioned. For incessantly occupied as your valua- ble time must be, you may not have had leisure to. read even this distinguished Periodical with the at- tention it deserves. To begin then*— In No. 31, page 215, you. will find this passage: ''The direction of the current, as marked in the Oreat Polar Basin of the dia- gram, is, ofiruTse, conjectural ; but not so, that which sets into this basin through Behring*8 Strait, and out of it into the northern Atlantic* By these two openings, a constant circular motion and interchange of waters between the Pteific and the Atlantic, seem to be kept up in the northern, as they are known to be round the Capes of Good Hope and Horn in the isouthem hemisphere.** This I am sure, Sir, could never have been written by one of your experience, who have tra* veiled r*o fiv— doubled the Cape— and sailed for it, as Jack says: because yon miist.know that north ^i li not Matli ; alid that tho iwb cases, as ih^ stated^ have little aimlogy i although he who trrote this passage littered troth In pari i and, fh>m h partly troe foci, has, either through Ignorunce or inadfertence, drawn a decidedly /iilfe eoHelntinn, as will be proved hereafter, either by me, or still better authority. In No. 35, for June 1818, the"^ Quarterly Re- Tiewer, ^ In discussing the points on which the probability of the success of the expeditions then pending, inight be calculated,** thought *' it would Matnly depend on Itoo cireunutancetr-the existence of a circumyolving current from the NoHh Pacific into the Atlantic, and of a great Polar basin free from land; two positions very difficult, we admit, of direct proof:** and a very pradent admission It was, as Gaptatn Parry has already shewn with regard to the Jirst t and as it tsjust announced in the Quarterly Review, No. 68, that this officer is bound to the North Pole ' either by land, by water, or by ice, we must wait for the proof of the other till he brings it back. But we will touch on this trip to the Pole after we have disposed of the Revrewer's circumvolving current, and now go on with our extracts from the hifaiJiUe Guide. In the same No. 35, the Rev^icwer assured us he had ** f raced the waters of the Pacific through •Behring*i| Strait, along the /t0o shores of the Polar basin** (it was not suriroundedihen) ** down Davis*s Strait, and the Sea of Spitzbergen, into the At- .lantic;** and adds, ''we have been thus circum- stantial with regard to the current** {fromlVestio \ East, mind yoa), ** as Us esuienee, affbrdsy In ditibns now engaged in eztiloring a pattage iftto thePkusifio/* DiDeminl^ this current so im|iortant, it is not to be wondered at that the Retiewer ebM not get it oot of his head, even after Captain Fatry returned and published the abcount of lus discoTeries as ' far as Melville Islhnd. Nay, \n .his review 6f Cap^inPiuT/s second voyage, he still speaks of A" perpetual onmtki from the westward'^-^flayiBli *' Capt^ Ptoy hiss now ascertained the mporiani fad, that a perpetual current (from the. West) sets through the Strait of the Fury ioid Heclai** and again, speaks of a '^ rapid tide^ Independent of the/ienminefil current winch sets thhiugh" tlUKt Strait « The question then;** says ' he, '* that na^ turally occurs, is, from whence does the Polar sea, suRBouNDio ail t^ iff by land, receive m SUifi« cient supply of water to provide for the perpetual discharge that takes place through the Strait of the Fury ahd Hecla? It cannot be from the tor« rents of melted ice and snow in the sea^ and sur^^ rounding shores and islands* Neither can it be from the melting of thd ice on the Polar Sea« The current naust, therefore, originate out of the limits of the Polar Sea, which toe alwdjfs thought was the case, and, in fkct, has now been proved to be so.** Now, will you believe it. Sir, all this must, I sut>pose^ haVe been written with that immense heaojf Quarto under his very nose,; la which you will find the following passage^ published by Captaih Parry himself^ lit ^mgel 354-5 )-^*^ From • this cbndadfni; oiMerfatioii on' tli6i|ldMi(iii thtt- pmtoftlie! Stmlt iof the FOryaadHedii as 'well* asfiomalloarpraeediiig icmarks, and ctpeoialty^ tie more regular ones of Mr. Crosier^ libelievec tbeieicanibe no doubt that tlie flood >dde here comes Uroin ; the irestwakd. That there is besides this^ iftirtfi^ agreat ' pariot the summeiv a perma-* nentonrvent- setting) from^ the same direction, is; also'Siifliciently apparent ; . and the Joint effects o£ theseftw|B ciadses appear' to account satisfectorily for* the various irregularities observed^ as well in the 8et\o£ the stream, as in the rise and fidl of the wnter^y the* shore. The natural inference with respect io^ the cvrrefil, seemed at' the time- to be, that it laloocAskoNBii by the MBLTma of the jhoioj iipoii"fhe .e- m i 9 Reviewer himself to be sure. ^Fozjt^e Polar Sea *' be iurraunded by land!* (^iQiolifi£^ what may be termed the rim of hU SSSlSjf, we cannot> well conceive how ii can provide for ''the per- peiual discharge that takes place through the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, and, therefore, it cannot originate in his Polar Seas and if it be' fioi produced as Captain Parry supposes, all I can say is, that it may have its origin in that rare ** wide ocean having no bordering land whatever,** which was mentioned by a learned " modem Athenian** in the Edinburgh Philosophical Jour- nal for October 1824. What presumption in a Reviewer, thus to set at nought even this highest authority, and to con- tradict Captain Parry in direct terms. But what ' will he say to Captain Pftrry now, who in giving an account of his third and last voyage, and stat- ' ing certain/acts, sums up the result of his expe- rience ** during eight, successive summers,** in these memorable and decisive words, al page 176: — ** These facts when taken together, have long ago impressed me with an' idea, that there- must exist, in the Polar regions, some general mo- tion of the Sea towards the ^est, causing the ice ' to set in that direction, when not impelled by- local and .occasional currento.** Now, Sir,- only consider for a moment, if the authority of thii< ' Officer, on account of his dear bought experience, ' '-*i8 to be taken as the bestf which I suppose the Reviewer will not now dispute, whatever you or I might do, what will become of A»tf perpetual cur- rentfromfTestto East? ■ ' •V' 10 Bitjt let .118 9ee wbm even this hitherto nn^^^f- ium^d authority funounts to; and if, the opinion or judgment of Captain Parry himaelfy on the gene- ral direction of the eurrent in, those parts of the North Polar regions he has yisited, can be impli- citly relied on; Otcourse, wm kU testimony can : of^hf Apply* 98 yet» to ihasfi parU. . The results of Captun Parry's experiencedur- ing hiBjksi voyage Uirough Davis's Strait, Baffin's Bay, Barrow's Strait, and what he caU$ ** part of the Polar Sea,** as for west as Melville Island, are given in the Appendix, No. 0; p. 146, tff that voy- age, in these words: — "It appears to me, upon the whole, that the souiherfy current, which we "have been enabled to detect in Davis's Strait and Baffin's Bay, is not more than: may becotfWby the 1>alance of the nariherfy winda, added to the annual dissolution of large quantities of snow, which finds the readiest outlet into the Atlantic.^ There is no allusion ber^ in this summary, to any motion of the Sea to either the East .or the f^est in pavUi Strait and Bqffirfs Bay^ but only ** to the iffuihward intq the Atlantic,^ And he says, " in the Polar Sea to the westward of Barrow's Stnuty no current has been found to exist beyond that which is evidently occasioned by the different winds.*^ Neither do we here find any mention of a '' general motion of the Sea to the westwiurd," or to any other particular quarter, but only tem- porary and local, currents, as variable as the winds which '' occafunT them» . It does not appear that Captain Parr}', in the course of his second voyage, mentions having m. •\M m ^i>;'i> .-■ >iii 11 made any such discovery as that of ^a g^eral motion of the Sea towards the west ;** bat, on the contrary, he fonnd a cnmhtjrom the westward In the Strait of the' Fury and Hecla, the tiaiure of which he has nlinutely detailed, as we have just seen. It does not appear from any thing Captain Parry published m the narrative of the secbnd voyage, that, up to the time of his quitting the Strait of the Fury and- Heda, the <* idea** of a general tnotion of tlie Sea to the westward had made so much impression on him, as that of the Revie^r*s perpetual current /rVrnt' that quarter. So implicitly indeed did Captain Parry seem to believe this current from the westward, in' the Strait of the Fury and Hecla^ to be pa^ 6f the Reviewer^s circumvoheTf that In the iacebf his own declaration of Its having ** cbabbd^i to floW about the SSOth of September, he says, at page 489 of second voyage, **ii coincides with ' that ob*^ served by Captain Fitinklin, and by the Russians to the westward.** Coincides! how? as lo direc' Hon of flow, *tis true. But as the ^mrrent in the Strait ceased to flow, thai fact hi dnce destl^ys its ideniiiy with the perpetual current of the Re- viewer, as well as ''with that observed by Captain Franklin, and by the Russians to the Westward.** Bpt from the above extracts it may fairly %e pjfe- sumed that Captain Parry^ at Mdl /fm^, believed them oi/ to be one and the same identical per- petual current frokn Bebring*s Strait to th^ very 8tk>t where one of tfa^m eiratfe^ to flow t Ai^yet, however, we haVe had no proof whatever of any connection between them. Another passage, at 12 the neit page, 490, is iolerabfy decisive of Captain Parnf9faUh in sncli perpetual current /rom the westward ; as lie speaks <* of tlie ice tieing almost constantly pressed by X\ktweBterhf current agiunst tlie western mouth of the Strait." This necessarily renders the ^< idea of a general motion of the Sea to the westward,** within the space from Behring's Strut to that of the Fury and Hecla, impossible ! But perhaps this space is not within Captain Pto^s limits of the Polar regions. Whether this stream from the westward through the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, be perpetual, or only temporary, as Captain Parry says ; he tells ns*-^ It is more than probable that the obstacles which finally arrested our progress in the Strait, are to be attributed mainly to the current we found setting to the eastward through it.** Probable ? why what can be more certain 9 when he adds, *' this stream, in finding its way through the Strait, would undoubtedly have the effect of keep- ing the ice close home upon its western mouth, so as to prevent the egress of a ship in that direction.** Now, Sir, a Quarteriy Reviewer, of common sense, {believing in the perpetual flow of a current fiom the westward, through waters encumbered with ice) would have been able to anticipate this effect, without the aid either otyour learning and sagacity, or even the necessity of dispatching Captain Parry to make that .discovery, and be enabled on his return, to report, that '*on this account the navigation of that Strait will seldom. if*. '■ ' ■ - i? < . 'm m ♦^.vi .'•din ■ ;& ■M-- .1?.' 13 if ever, be practicable ! Yes ; all this iiiig)it have been» nay it wom anticipated, notwithstanding Captain Parry tells as " circumstances beyond the reach of oity previous speculation, combined to oppose ian insurmountable barrier to our entrance into the Polar Sea, by the route lately pursued." Why, Sir, you anticipated such result, and it is surprising that your judgment had not more- weight ; for your opinion was very clearly ex- pressed at page 373 of your "Account of Voy- ages into the Polar Regions," in these terms: " Field ice fixes itself on shallow coasts, m Straits, Bays, and Inlets, where each field becomes a nu- cleus for an increased accumulation, as in the Straits of Bellisle and Behring, for instance, and in every part of Hudsoris Bay, down to the lati- tude of 50°." The Quarterly Reviewer, too, in No. 35, p. 217, attributed the /oi/ure oi *y every former attempt of navigators proceeding on dis- covery, to their having entered these Straits, and had to struggle against the ice, and currents, and tides, on the Coast of America.** He, therefore, took special care to let it be known, pubUcly, thai he had no hand in advising a course to be pursued which he had thus so decidedly condemned ; and in No. 49, p. 207, told hb readere, 'fthat the attempt was to be made, as recommended by Cap^ tain Parry, in a more southern latitude, close on the Coast of America." '* Captain Parry has re- corded his opinion in favour of its accomplish- ment, and his suggestion has no doubt beea adopted on the present voyage." ('• V • I I ' 11" ^ t^mmfrnti l y^iK t i^w *— «w«***' t«MN«i •M* WMM «MMM > .,..■■... '14 , ' As ibist viery. route^ then, was: the one adopted at the re€6«iiii0iii!a/tim of Captain Parry, w^ may safely conclude that the " cirtiunifitances*' men- < tioned by him which combined t^ oppose an in- surmountable barrier to his entrance into the Polar Sea, by that route, had undoubtedly been < beyond the reach of any previous speculation of his. As advisers, therefore^ botjti you and th^ Reviewer are out of the scrape^ and Captain Parry alone can chum the honour i>f having pointed out a :route wliich led to a discovery of more real value .than any made before or since, in the arctic re- gions i the discovery of an honest num, by the proof of Middleton^s veracify^^A discovery highly .honourable to his memory, after he had been calumniated above 80 years. . This man of integrity was not believed by the Admiralty Board of his day, who, it may therefore be presumed, were not qualified to judge whether the truth lay with Middleton orDobbs; for no man of common nautical ability, and unprejudiced mind> could . read the controversy between the two, without being convinced of * Midd]eton*8 ve- tacity .with regard ..to Repulse Bay. But the measure of the nautical knowledge of the Autho- rities, whose approbation Middleton sought in vain, may be estimated by what even yoti men- .tion at page 286 of your Voyages to the Polar I'tegiofts. . , ; Dobbs, like lother projectors of the present day, believed in the probability of a *^ practicable North-west passage,** which you have liberally ' said ** Middleton either UHiuld not, or Irom ignth^ ,: m '# ':-■<■■ 15 ranee, could not discover.*^ Dobbs, too, fanoied tbat the discovery of this passage would gain him a name, or advance bis own interest in some way, and succeeded in persuading authorities as cre- dulous as himself, to believe it would "be of great benefit and advantage to the trade of the king- dom.** That fascinating object being placed in the fore-ground of a picture, no doubt highly, co- loured, did wonders among the gaping public of his day, and has been tried with equal effect even with our own. But the discoveries of recent date have destroyed Maf illusion; and *' benefit and advantage to science," are now wisely substituted to keep up an interest in tbe spectators of hyper- borean exhibitions. But the route pursued by Captain Parry on his second voyage^ led to a still more wonderful dis- covery ; that ' however unsuccessful had been the two expeditions employed under his orders, they were tm^rtie^^tbitaft^ directed to the right place, viz. the Strait of the Fury and Hecla. He does not merely assert this, but gives what doubtless appeared to him, at the time, to be a sound reason ; because those '^ endeavours at least served the us^l purpose of shewing where, the passage is not to be ^ectedr Vet at page 488 (written qfter his second failniie) we are.assured, that *' with the limited geogn^hical information possessed be* /breht MM, no. other route than that pbinted out (which led to the right place, wheniht^^ sage fi ti6# t6 be effected) « could possibly- have been pnrsned with any '* reattcmable hope of suc- cess!! with what reasonably bbpe then^ it may Itf • ' , n ;i be asked, was a routes rejected .then as hapeUsSt pursued afUrwar.di without any additional " geo- graphical information?** The fiiilure pf the. third attempt, by way of Prince RegenVd Inlet, thus acknowledged to have been made "tMVAoti/any reasonable hope of meee$a,and certainly with no additional '^geographical information,** (appertain- ing to that route) has, however, giveii Capt P&rry an opportunity to prove himself tp. be as true a prophet in this ease^ as yoii and the Reviewer were with-regard tP the route by Hudson's Strait. His third foilure has also had effects as extraordinary on his judgment as the two former had. For at 4^age 184 of the third voyage, he says, that " the views he entertuned on the practicability of the enterprise, of the means to be adopted, and the .route to be pursued for its accomplishment, (as mentioned at the close of the second narrative, and just commented on), remain wholly uaa^eretl, except that some additional encouragement has been afforded by the fiivonrable appeartmces of a namgable sea near the South-west extremity of Princ^. Regent's Inlet;** and, therefore, he recom- mends that **any future attempt should be di- rected to that point. In short, the route which before '' could not be attempted, with a|iy reasona^- ble hope of succesa," is now tt^ one ntp^t likefy to lead to the ultimate accomplishment of an under- taking, which Captain Parry believes *' to be well within the reasonable limits of practicability, and that will, one day or other, be accomplished.** Then, with '' appearances** so favourable, aiAl hopes renovated by disaster, it is to be hoped. Sir, ;i m •■^s^ ■'■0 ■ -va'*" 17 ■M. .■^i: '-y- that youy who have taken so lively an interest in these arctic exploits^ and are said to have so much iiijiuence, will not, now '* the ice is broken, the door opened, the threshold passed, and the first • stage of the journey accomplished,'* relax in your endeavours to get this great undertaking com- pleted, fo.r the sake of science at least. For it may be supposed, yoti are not now quite so san- guine in your expectation as the learned Reviewer, was, of '* the incalculable advantage our commerce would derive from the discovery of a North-west passage into Cathay and Lands OrientaH.* But, . indeed, we are now informed by the Reviewer, in. No. 68, at page 387, that <' he would fain hope, that the prosecution of this great national object has only been suspended WW the issue of Captain Franklin's expedition shall be known." But why; wait for that? If there be what Captains Parry, Franklin, and the Reviewer believe there if, '^ an uninterrupted water communication,** what pos- sible light can Captain Franklin throw ob its practicability from Prince Regent*s Inlet toBeh- ring*8 Strait, unless he navigate it? His proving the whole northern coast of America to be uncon^ nectedwiih. any other land, will hui jutwe what the Reviewer and his discip!es hare neve^* doubted. His not seeing a particle of ice along, thii^ whole extent of that coast,, will not prove the whole space^ beyond his vision, to be equally ^tmoMhic/ea by it.' V .. *. '. The jReviewer >8ay8, '' No one can iumo dispute, faown^uch easier the accomplishment of the pas-1 sage must beyromBehring^s Stnd^.tp^riaoe Re- 1 ) 18^ g^en Mkitj th$^ th6' coniMrf WilyiJ^i > Uttt^ $fddi c6dld crdly' be kitoirii siniet ■ tbtf • dH66twy'^ oti anli oatlet* tbr6ttig;lif LakiciiAtier Sband.itftb BiiffinVBay;*' ' Wbdoabi thik di8edy6ijr'W(mkfVii1i^y hae^ bleeti di^ubted, else v5hf jetid land expeditions ?' Andf.the pri^iiin/ saipenstbn of the prosecution of ty enteitirise, «^ kt itsetf a jirtidf^ tud tA dtrttbi^ v^\f^ Mint of the' dppi^ektii s^i of some impeH^ ihM.^jfiftif^ to Ae atfcertalnable by ^edestrianr triftvelfersi 1 t^fi^ itf will appear evfdeftt even to y^uy Sir^ thiit 6\it eijBtittinMiofr bf 6aptahi ¥wtf% ihrst* anMi 8e(>6iid voyiiges, cOd &r as We Had gbtie before thhr digression^ hda tedded i^ther tc^ ^ttrbvefy th^ t<^ provW; die esikftei^Ccf of the peipetnal current/fVfta^ t^ewesffiirkrtf (idiagtttedby the R^vfeWCr) hi every ^rt' 6l^ the' arctic U^'bta he visited duiin^ those voyages. If> in addition to this, the " idea** C^p^ tain f!dri^ itc^ has^ be correct; that *^thc^ inust be It geh&bi itndtioii df the Sea imnards ike Pf^esi/ and Wif tkii nhd m fats evidence^ sufficient to e^to- u • blish the fa^t; then that foot must confirm the |)i:ooC of the nnn^exUtence of stiQh perpetual '* cii/r- rent'.' /rorh the' wedtvrard. JPor ^He'idea'of ITie co-exUience of iwo oupbi/ie supcrti(iial, iierpcitaal; requii nion ,^ . , ' ^Uaj^terly Reykwer to iind^ Altnough Cfaptain l^arryis lissetllon may be con- , ^idered 6y som'el'as stiftibleni Woniirfnai^ob' of 'it' '■ -'.r\ m ■.».t': nna out^ ii i can, now ana wnen, \i got vnere ; and wliether, on the evidence br th^ ta(6'tfi he'ki- ^iioes m support of his opmion, there necessarilV •ka tpwards ii^e West in thV'^'"^ -I-vl- :«• • ^.i. ;0.. tilt; >,:;?ir i'i, «'i ' .. >. i Is. then, carefully examme t " Th^ wesfiern sides of se ^ ;rendinfif at all approaciiine:*'to Nort&^ 4nd Sdliihl u*e, at a given season of Ine year, generally more ! b3 fowards l6^ r. •■ 20 ,i* West, causing Ibe ioe to let in that direction, when not impelled by contnury winds, or local . and occasional currents, nntil it bntts against those shores." But he must also admit, on the testi* mony of himself and bis officers, (see page 472 of the second voyage), tliat some shores with a' western aspecifhwe likewise been found equally, if not more encumbered with ice, than any within the scope of his own experience ; for the east coast of Greenland is not. For instance^ iht west side of Melville Island, and the toef / sides of Cock- bum Island and Melville Peninsula, or at least, at the western entrance of the Strait of the Fury andHecla, where** ice, interminable to the sight,** had been 'impelled until it butted against those shores;** by what cause it is needless for me to say; because Captain Parry himself has already explained it (see page 490 of the'second voyage), thus:— '^Tlie ice being almost constantly jireueif by the westerly current against the western mouth of the Strait.* Here, then, I presume, that << ge- nend motion of the Sea to 4he west,wtm not dis- covered, which he assigns as the cotMe of the en- cnmb^rance of shores havin^^ an «a«/eni aspect.*' It is somewhat singular that Captain P^ry*s ezpeiience ^ during eight successive summers^^ should not have led iiim also to notice as particu- larly, a fact still more striking $ that every shore (without one exception) explored by him in' 0e Polar regions, having an aspect to, the North, is always most encumbered with ice^ and those fiicing this South, the least so. But to return to this general motion of theS«i towards the West. > 21 «^Some definite observations wbicli Captain Pftr* 'ry adduces In confirmation of "his idea,** are referred to. The first is, at page 78 of the second voyage where he says, " he has shewn in how re- markable k manner the ships were set to the tref#- ward, towards Southampton Island, instead iif being carried in a direction opposite to a strong wind.*' This was on the 2d of September, 1821. "On that morning the wind was from the North west- ward, and increased to a fresh gale, which conti- ' nued to blow during the night ; notwithstanding ' Which (says Captain Parry) I was in hopes that the immense floo to which the ships were at- tached, would have enabled us to retain our sta- tion tolerably. It was mortifying, therefore, to find) on the morning of the 3d, that we had drifted more than I ever remember to have done, in the same time, and under the same circumstances. It was remarkable, also, that we had not been set ' exactly to leeward, but past Baffin's Island towards the two remarkable hills on Southampton Island." At the next page, 79, Captain Ptory writes : — ** On the morning of the 5th, we cast off from the floe with a fresh breeze from the South-east, and made sail," &c. "As we advanced to the north- Ward, we found less and less obstruction, the main body of the ice having been carried to the south- ward and eastward by the late gale, which bad in 60 extraordinary a maimer drifted it* in the tame direction/* Here we have three fib^ts :-« 1st. With a fresh gale from the northward aad >«reStward, the ships and the floe of ice together, wqdy.of t[^jf» io« the Simih-ia^iward by ^^hf) l^^;gale, wbicb biad Wso extraoridiAary a manner dr\fted the sblps in the ; i We fure; rcjferred to tbes^ in prpof of tbe ships ).b0!ng ^t ^t)ie.fOf^«ltoiiri( by ''a, general motion • of the l^a tpwards that quarter fV Fortunately, we ihave a. muiphjc/^orj^fidi^hpiityto consuU; thec^iArt idf^WQ Wftdef^l^, linj^ediate, inspection by the late .. Zieti<<;rAaf^^.S,u6hnaii,i?h9i It^may ^ prc»umed, w^ .snoti qvuJ^ed..fpi^.lW|fifork. If /CaptiEdn Piirry < will agaJii. in8p<$9^t^tht^t ch^p W^li £pd, that ifn iih^^94 ofiJSepteinber, tbe^sidps w^^^ '231 miles to ;..;the^Atb^^^ and ,0jDe na^ie to j^tie eff^^ori of '.the noon pmitiotfQiof ^^jM;^^a^^^ on the'4tb, . they : irere. 61^ pilles to (the squthw^ six ^mk^ t^iji^^joatwgrd pt ji^^^^ station on the I J^t pf Septpmber : | thus. jponjEufmm^ the truth of .ihtepwn.c^m^rl&.mf^de qni the (Sth, as tQ tb^ main i.body P/ tbfticjei .being ^/carried to the'iSbtf/A-fo^- iWrriiffxA the #A7» along with it, ** in the same v.,..i.Alth<^igh J . Ao i;iPt,saY there waaw local cur- reni, ot-iidejQ^ iftp wtsitowrd, in this instance, but bAdmU Jlh^lJP inigl\t h§ve^ l>ecai. •'^fli !^ io^ the (\fmifyst drift, ot;the;Sh}p8jfoMejea«f^ was t.donbtlf^ y.:it^. X^j.^H'^Jy i!*®r®!l?!p® proof of it Aere, and stiU less of it snaiure and (»use. ' 'I 1 h^-r. S3 • Our next ^references iMre,i to p^ges 481r2» of • the Bccond voya^. Oa.the 11th lof September, Cap- /tain Parry says— 'Mt was, now ot^servahle, as pn a .^former! occasion, (4he, one just opinniented pn) (orth-westei;ly gfde .iji^^re > I very/appaxent » for although, we ,l^ad 'ebr^iy^fige..as. ini IQlQfjiQg, a,, winterly ^wipd, iothongh blowiOg:>dir^ly79gaW^ us^.iVaSfi^ways Avlonqd^ nUimAtelyrt^Ofl^) tbi^r^n«etrfi^fpuj;pk\ile) to >%*Ihan4pp,;its ^\mvm^S n np(.Av^ithe: ^astwv4^" irMf^mB^\^1^''The nin4iidj#hi(tedidfibly Arifiti back fist or six miles to iht toMU ward; This temporary loss of ground, was^ how- ever; as asaal, more than compensated, bya large spice bfclear water now seen m'#Aore. We were here within a league of Cape Bylot.** ' As floating ice, then, ifjhns driven to the east- ward by gales of wind from the North-west and West, even against Captain Pkinys *"' general mo- tion of the Sea towards the West, does it not fol- . low that the same ice must be driven to the west' : ward by an easterly wind springing up after the ; other, even if the Sea were in a nutiionless state? ., If so, then the aid of an ideal ** general motion of '-.f the Sea towards tbe West, is not needed by a sea- man to account for the ice closing again after a few hours* change of wind from North-west to East. Nay, it may be shewn, by simply reason- ing on Captain Parnfs own facts, tbut this ten- dency of the ice to close with ** the shores of the ' Continent and of Southampton Island,*^ would be observed even in a perfect calm, if tbere were no «ticA *' ideal motion,** as he supposes, to impel it, , ; That there may have been some other cause, or . causes^ than the one Captain^ Pftrry has supposed, : for this fffect on the ice, and its being kept'M close to these particular shores, is not to be doubted. And if I am not mistaken, the evidence of Captain Parry himself will be quite sufficient to prove it ; td any seaman of ordinary capacity^ ' The following remark occurs at page 19» of Captun Parry's second voyage, soon after he en- ' tered Hudson's Strait s—<< On tho 27th (J[uly)> we .i'k. ■ •I. ■ ■■■■'. l: ■' ♦■' 35 tBontimsed to gain a great deal of ground (to the westward), the ebh tides appearing to obstract.us very little; indeed, from the very entrance of Hud8on*8 Strait, but pnore especially to the west- ward of the lower Savage Islands, it; was matter of constant surprise to find our dull sailing ships make so much progress, when beating against a fresh wind from the westward; and / have no doubt of the accuracy of the remark made by our early navigators, that the floods run stronger than the ebb on this coast.** , < ; This flood, it appears, sets to the Westrnorth- west, till it is " met by the flood coming from the northward, down, the great opjcning leading to Fox*s Farthest,** occasioning ** an irregularity near the Mill Islands.** By the meetingj or. junction, of these two floods, (each doubtless, having que and the same origin), the course of both is altfired more to the ti;eshi;ar4i{^^/QU7ar(2r the ^ shores of the Continent and of Southampton Islandl, part set- ting through the Frozen Strait of Mi^dleton^ and down Sir Thomas Ilowe*s Welcome, and part along the east side, of Southampton Island^ into Hudson's Bay. > j . . J . And as it is a facti that these two fl<>od tides are both stronger and longer than the ebbs, an en- cumbrance of those shores with drifting ice must be, the inevitable consequence ; and especially the Northern piMt of Southampton Island from Cape Bylot to Cape Welsford; ^exposed as it is by ^ts trending to the ices^ brought down to iVJ. by i^ flood . tide from the .northv^^ardyaiVeif also by ,f^|Bui^i|t of labovejg^eoi i^htper day, from theisame guartw; A': 'ibaa>alMfi^iiidl'k«d;«tt>dge'47i{;^iliat iii'IbcieoufBe -6f the(i|tfiiinMi>'Of <(l823;^mi Miibtfa/<|»Myportioiiibf jirfakh;<6f Ddiittte; ttHtisi hi&Vo tencfced to Im^rthe ice • > AnflbcAmiiiiEttioii bftiearlytbe whbleiofthepab- '!ndh«d RiedOhh'df *thef Wihdft >ifi> the piai9 bfv the 'NbHh Polar obst^^ii that ^he i Mf^steri of > the ^WiiMd M f^ JSbil^ef^'^Mur'beenoiiritted, owirig to^odaLicaoses, ^^' C^ttii^ mo/ (&e '*<^(yitef^€vl'iJi^ith' ibe,<«han''to Assign-^ sw^lt^BAd ^^tnl.dridasbiffoif'ihdrbeib^^o. • ^ ^ ' '<'^i^8h6i^ibirMift|g^th)^1l^e(it ddtf of Di&vis*»^ ^'hiid^BUffi&'s'Say/ thitidiBg tidiViy' No#thi- tain Pari7'rettirhed albdgit in theAlextb&d^r^ifa^t on' quitting^ Lancaister Sbikhd; on his secbtid^tnYn, he seeikis'to tiaVe'anticitia^ed litifle or'nd bbbt^c- ' tidn i£rt>m^'the ice lini ihaicbtist. 'For, im' the '^h bf Adg^st, i820; hesa^ys; at page 269 ^^ I 'd^r- 'idiikei W 'mp '^ 'db^e to that ihoh:, ^dtirin^ S^r i'»i; ; ■ I ■ bage'ddWh^'as'the Iber and Witfd'^dtold ^bdiit ; as ih^es^etiaUce of 'the fbrmer Vbyil^'hsidlcid iis to ynjppose that this bbdstWoiibId bctf/^^ if^ ^ ite iiui^itig' the' t^hbie o^ fiept^ihbbr.** ^ * t^rbm hehce it iha}^ be fairly pr^iilnibd/that^'a/ tibnbf the Sea towards the W^st,** in DdvUiSi^aii Hhd )SdMiiti'Bay^oif\tilja!nc^ier SoMt^ilUhr^ 'iinii'i mUi,'BB ^at'as 'MeMHe Islttdd; ttdd'^ot strupk him. For (as' before hbtlbiedy^he ' hW^e- 'I6lai^d/Vhat *' in chelPolaif S^ to'the W^W^d of !jE^i^^Mik;^^^ fbiibd tb'b^st ? fa«ybkid thkt S^hibh i^ Wid^tktly xi&i^^dhfii/- i^imitd^'k^'^ffmvmir, immtd^mt^kid AX. ;W9S I I I \ happen t^ .b^ 1^ set imqrdi the fFeft, he appears to h^ve.coDsidenBd it quite an anomahi aiid was not 9 little. pi^zzled to account for itj " when a contrary current might have been aniicipaied T He^ how- eyerj supposed it to be ** caused by the re-^uiion of the water, which had been forced io the eastward . in the ear)y part of the late galesJ* (iJaptain Farry does not seem to have been aware^ that the assigning of re-action as the cause, proves ,. what he certainly did not^ then, intend to prove — the impossibility of a perpetual flow of current Jrom the westward: for re-action towards the West^ . . loA^itce water fiowed perpetually, to fill up the space ;, previously occupied by the quantity so *' forced to .the eastward^** m an impossibility. But when the ■., west wind subsided, ''which had forced the water tp the eastward,** then re-action would take place, ^ if there could be no supply. In fact, the case stands . thus. There was a temporary current setting to the westward, off Cape Hay, on the 16th and 17 th ,,of September, 1819. If re-action was its cause, ^ thai fact destroys the perpetual current there from . tlie West. It also proves the possible existence, ,^fit tfie time, of some yet undefined enclosed space ,. westward of Melville Island ; for, without that, re- , action could not take place. /Jliuswe can find nothing recorded in Captain .,^ Parry's first and second voyages, to shew the least •tendency in his mind to believe in this "general / motion of the Sea towards the West ;** or that it . impelled the ice in that direction^ which was found to encumber the eastern shores of certain lands in Ui( , th^ Polar Regions. Nay, if he hJEtd not told U8> in ■A;, 'a I" » "•..■•5*. ''.ca i^ •rv'-j Vo'l 29 the account of bis third and last Tbyolge/it hiid engaged "bis attention for eight successive 8tttii<^ mers,** and that "the impression had been made long ago,"* one could hardly suppose be bad se- riously entertained any such idea With regard M the eastern portion of" the land called North So- merset,** forming the western Bide of Prince Re- gent*s Inlet, until after it bad proved so fatal to the last expedition. For on the 20th of July, 1825, when Captain Pftrry left Port Bowen, be says, a€ page 95 of the last voyage— *' On standing out to sea, we sailed with a light southerly wind towards the' western shore of Prince Regeufs Inlet, which it was my first wish to gain, on account of the eoi» dent advantage to be derived from coasting 'the southern part of the land, called in the ' cbart^ 'North Somerset,* as far as it might lead' to the westward, which, from our former knowledge, we bad reason to suppose it would do, as far at least as long. 95% in the parallel of about 721^** ' If, indeed. Captain Parry had already teiuihed the South-east point of North Somierset ; and sup- posing its ** southern coast** to trend well westward from it^ there can be nb doubt that the experience of his former voyage must have taught bim to ex- pect " evident advantage** from coasting tb^ wvHi* ern part' of that land. BvLt,first of all, hehad to make Souihing Mug its EaMsrn shore. 'And altbough it may not strike you' as tiny thing oiii of the common way, yet- Utiy seiUkieli willniituttiUy put this question to bimself-^Why did thiff ii6vi- gatpr prefer ^Aof intfe of Prince Regent'silolety^for the purpowy in the vcfry fiioie of bis oHm formef-e^- m li0D9, ^ 1)9^ qe^ fp>^ 9yer 9«^i|8i^<^ ^tk t^jej peif9);9ni(fic!^ni^^.t^irdjacf of.^^ ^lece^, for, ^n, tbeOniirtjbrly.R^lirieiy^, Nq. 6§,p. 3g5,. W-^ayi-y, « l^ben we y Captifli^ P^^, t^iat dii|ripjg: the tiipo tb«. Fijiry an,4 H^cla iircan^ n|ad# tot o^ij tbe, eoA9t «f Prince 9«g?nJ;;g I^^l;, tl^^ tee waf spir- ting. <9 (*fi ^^HAu^ord; sooqietlni,^ at a. i^pii l^tff ^l qev^ft 4^y9 Qi^t 9f ^ft, op ^p Wejj^, ^e/cijifli liot lue|p fxpr9«3}ng a ^h tji^t ^iftth v^la fc^ adt^atloA* wh(?m they; vere ali99st ey^ry tas^^m liable to he 9qup^jed be^t^iepn t|^e J^ug^ ^p^e^^^f^^ the uiiyieldiW|to9r9, whejpp^ % forjaeie ifas fipajly J III the narmtiY^ ftf. 1;l|c. ^n?t YPF?fffl» o^ the gtfr of Auguat, ISW, wbep R?ftrlF as frr t? tb^ ^pjat^- Mnias «J»pfi Katwfc piptoip-j^fj Bays^ ftf pfge Inlet, was abowt ISM i^H^ r ftft4 <*»?flg}|i ft? whQteii|F.tbfi«p«f;?4TJ? hftri;Bpp,|rPro?^9l1fr ^^4*4 Soatb4)y7eMt,,w^ fsompYiel^ly Ic^Y^i^^ Wf^^ !<^^ 4)irti»i8tiiifir4if beftJ?y.e»t?ngiKf! fh?hf^^ff9^^1^9k «d! indicia|iii»ii ^fjF^er .iias mii»l^,frA>9> ^^ B^!^ hfi^ ; yet be ^m^m rf^^o^ ;^.f'oyA^»%ir^5^!f^*- •iKi% pfi*bipgii««/w5^'nff;wjtf*//?^/Jff i? ihmik t^tot/pby «« \ M f ■■*> rf:: ' wiii^h^ CaptaiiiJRarry» how!eyeiv prefe^^d to,'try^)iM i Itick tlici ItottiiM:;: ii!pi-.dpnH'loriBOip(|bf^^Uir i)f%^ 8oa than the onci^y/^n) »A i l)i9^iDacrMiyei ,Qu^, ui| alll faumaikitirobahilityrf, ln^ • h^. en,d^vp!iMre4 . tO)gc;f ^ to iheiBauihwHrdf abn^ tba eofiifim ^^f^ of ,tj^^ .Ip^, let, evoft att soi eaulyi af p^io<)i yl,tbe ; syifon^^hi^^ might liavaf ; ■:!■). ,'^^,ic'i ; C^ptaiA> Parry co^okicles; bis r^iA cvt^.tbis supposed ''motion ofi IM' S«a tok th^ weatT|i;aiir4 ^1% the Polar Reg^ons^ by) suggeatiQ|^, (or the ojonsif^^ deration jot others^ *' whether: sn/cb a tendeiw%y..o^ the Sea 0iay not hc^vesome: oonnesion w^tb tibe ^fp^ tiOB of the cartb on. it*a aadsk** Vi Slir^ he ha^ ^iIa tioned tbissDggestioQ'.to^yoUy Idaoe; say yoM.qopl^ have informed hiQ|i^.if he.cfl4 wXJtnm \%, i^%hf^^ FftbricivB aad Admiral * lio^0novpe, . ffaW^x^^^ this same notkm long ago^wbec^fM^C!#ptij(|isg to,^ eount for the desocnt of tbd iv^ fropr #/? .?i?|s^ Sea^ through thalof Spit9bergiin»;to5V9^/M)9 kj^ lantic; Bfntaftthis'^soggestwft^^ofil^^bpaj^f with 801 littitti attentsQii'froiii .tbe>l^ni^c| Bo^^ perhaps it would have ihftifd ,ib^ foteo( $^.(^^1^ Theory of Tides^ otifthe Reviewei^^; fi^n^.^pcjqi^n iMibn (tbf0^«6.6og«ofaT4l7Jioini^rf]tu9!q[ipd^^ upkari/amUy) focfocUitatilig:tbe4r«iHi>V#'»^^ mumierte^ tbrougbi m North^wost ; pMftag^' t^ ( t^ -'Lan4s' Qrientanri or^ l^tly*:, /^. tbfl ;,i(«e i wl thougbtlflsa project i>f Captain Stsoreflbyi ^^aittij Uihe NoM i^/lr^H-if Uihadnofcll^efO; j^fip^ S«: 1 tfy'one of mob 8ctctt06.> ItirMtO'beexp^iedtlmt cbmii^^to VLB, thus highly- reoommendedi it wamid be seriouBly considered by one, whoee writings in • the 'Qdarterly Review hkv^' oiist so brilliant a light oyer the Arctic stage; on which British officers, seaoten; ' and E^qtiinianx ladies- and gentlemen, have been exhibiting, nndtr his magical. manage- ment, for theamosementofunleamed jouif ofhigh and of low degree. And we are glad to find, in . No. 68, p. 384, that he has oonQidered. it His answer to Captiun Flurry's question. is very concise. * ^Philosophers, we believe, have long ago «e///^c^ this point ; and are agreed, that the Sea, as well as the Jtmdsphere, partalce of the £arth*s motion^and acfcoinimny it' very peaceably in it's daily revolu- tionr, without striving either to. jvreced!? or faU". be*- hinditW* Indeed I Then thie waters of the Ocean, ft seJems;' are at rest in YAeniM/oer,* «nd, 'lilce: t)ie hotintains Of the earth, have oin/i^: a revolving mo*' ^tbn^ with ■ it. > ' ' At this rate, there Js no current on this glob^i hitherto theEast or to the West. But, i!f thiis W^ the/acf, it would at once annihilate tiie Reviewer^ own V perpetual current/rofn West to^Ea^ti** in* the Polar Regions, as well m Captain Paiiry^s ibfig discovered^' general mbtion.' of the 8ek towards ihe ff^est,** in the sameRegUm,. How eirer,' iperhHj^ the' Reviewer does not ideiitify him- iif^ with these " Philosophers,** who.have '* long ^o settled the pdnt** in this way ; unless he has lately ' becbme ' a douvert. For. ^iirben, in the yi^ar 1816, hifii was' trying' to prove' the: perpetual cur- rent from, the Northern Pacific tit^o his: Polar Basin, and out of it into the northern Atlantic,* • ' '5% ■ m ./m- ■ ■'"•J'. ;f- '% "Kv«r m ■m 83 lie 8tud*^*^By t 9ttwt^ojp^\tgB^ti'CotManVcir^ atlat motioti and ' hiierchange of watei^ between the. Pacific and the Atlantic^ teem tobe'kept np in the northern; Oi they are known to be ronnd the ' Capes of Gdod Hope and Horn, in the Southern bemiBphere; * Here he stated that known faci^ of there being a ^general motion of the Sea from West to East iik eei^am pariif of ^the globe,' bnt misap^ plied it, in his Adbdety to persuade the ignorant tb beliere an absurdity. •' ■ * ' - '' • ^ ' ; • '*'^ It i$ to Indidpttbble fact, ihiat there is, betwc^ti certain parallels itt the Sofutliem' hemispfi^re-tmd its i)ole, U getiittA ^ cinhinKVolyihg ' curt^t ^ Mm West to'East (except Whie^land IntehreAiEs), hatv- kkg; at the same 'time,^ a tend^cy noHhwttrd, '^ On the saim'e'pdnciplei and fWiiti tfaeVgatoe 1^ thete mnstbe ti;^ the'IUsviewer W|;^posed; biij^, perhaps, iidi^Ai?^^; a Sli](iiilaiP genei^ltir^ ing Gurredt yhitii' West^W^Edst |(subject't6 tlie same excepticins);' having,' ait- the ^e titiie; a' «eii; d^ncy '^southwards' and, thftalh Parry, andthe* Rey!eWet^,'^td'r^6kibile thes^* r^ corded^coutradictionis,"'"'*'' ' 'M *^ '* » -^ >ui<5iii And now let us see^ wliat the 'Reviewer wjii'tb the icy enoumbranbe 'dn' tlle'Weste^' Shoireli' blT Seas and Inlets. It is thus exptdned, and iit^ s^ ftuAiiUiirnttiifiiiti^i'lbWW'db^t bts t^ understand him at ^etti "^ ** iVe i^^isAoi>'#ai^tit]li of OM (the«ttt«m^8hi>riB> kdik th^ t^^ 11:' !1 > ' ■ W . « wi4i ill- wbMe.on |lm8tftclQlOitbe il^utioa^^ Arctic ^l]|l^^A%rTt}M».l^^ N^W* ^ook lig^ tp tli^'*«ai^tefn «i4§ qf.)ur;tb« western 8^^ of |[req/f^4 ^^ ramt^W ^q^^pl^ly wpl^ *▼««> th9^gh it ibfi ^iaf4 |K^i^» i 4npp«^ i^onies^^I am not w^. 6^!for'^W4ft^al0T^r yon may lK»i.Sir I but, atle^ty we^ca^piit lAif tbecvy io the i(e§t,4^,ea;ppiems^ if W9 ^Q^ld taf e 1^ hard unnter. Ji% d) eve^tSi tbdast^t^U b^a4eUghtfollow^ % th^ mijd^ f^d femala 4vu!Mi^W0it thejMetfopolis^ (i^pecially its es^teni fi^e^fromlieillg #0.1% m aZ/ w^aihaiis. Thi^. ^rci;imatfMPipe! 'rojold,! .of <^iine^ insure it iheir preference ; \m%% p^bapc^ Captain Jftey woid(J^ aporn^ t^^'evii^t adyaii.t0^|;e^''and purd^er tfi^ ei^unter. ttio. icy impediments on the l^neiWfiVp t obaerYO» has n^ cji^imed iwaqr share in the lionpnr of having brpught /A^ project to bear. . t • \ ^Uk •i ■ I ■/. v':i . ; ' 'Mm \ ■ ! 4^ Aoii M both be and Cf^taia ^rry i^ joii^er th^ enterprise of auoh ^' easy c|cconlpll^^h^Q^<»t f ^^^ ^ glory obtoioed, tmghi to be mprpipwtian pn ^beifq,r usual diffioiilties and dangers epcoiintered f^l4 eubduedf to tbe t^Hli^ also, and po^ $p th^ m^^ novelty or dingnlarity of any ei^ploi^. perhaps th^ Reriewer may despise the IH^.whiol) fucc99§\^ this case om confer* )fi[esays— ''CapfainP^rry ktuew that a project had boen entertained <|)y.anr othei^ able and Indefatigable ofl^r, pf prope^ding from Spitzbergen to the North Fp)ert!W4/'b? knaw that anoh a man af Frfin^fifyi was np^ MMy t<^^^ggatland adopt a measMre that did npt oaqry with it a (Hlr; phaoce pf success," This pai^sag^ «f ould lead the public tP believe that tbdii projept mfifir^t fugseste4 f>Sf Cfaplm Franklin AvWHckiB m% the case^ As ypmarPi no dpubti wpU acqpain||s4 with al) that h90 been w d^ten and pfibli^b^d g^ the suljject of Arotip anquiry* t dare say ypm wqJi- lept» tbatthiaproject is^as n^rly as Itc^^i^ be^^ length in the Mempirs pf the Wemedan SpRicjyp Volj % pQgp^29« . l%is scheme did npt at ^ phimp in Tfitb thenptipnthe lUviewar bi^l, jQ^^^^^ ?p)ar Baoin bP iraaat-Mpif /tivM very -basily constructing in bis npddlpf and, itberefpye/Zin tbe^.QuartprJty Bemw» >Npi i36< in a lopt-ftotp, at ms^i9\v Iw says.-^Qa|)(taij>Soore9by might ^eU-^.tipipafp libat hi$ idh tud 0houghf/e^ prqjeei of p-meUing ofer thp ioe.of itha Sea tP tba Npftb iPplft m^y ibe daemed^'ibp frenflied spcieii^lpn pf;a 4ispilid||i^v^ funey^' . . jWp ir^gm that W ypMng map, jof fpmi).^ l«n^ fhpidd teure ^ hm^. h^xvfi^ ^7 1»: dwro^rff c2 55 -i MkB^ihe'wiigar Hare, into taoh an inbonsisteney. Bat it has leired^MalteBmii for an' argivnent^ ilteb as' it ^ Is, UgaiM the existcmee. of* Polar Bor ikti One would' bay« thought that aperBon of hii readiilg'and 8agaoity»oii^ht hire seen the dbmrdii^ of- such an Idea; and that even' soppoeipg' the Polar Sea to be frosen; it would present ar surfa^ so rugged and nuntfitdinous, as to make it an easU& iosAr to'drive a broad«wbeeled' wag^n over thi summit of MoUt Blano^ than a rein-deer 'sledge to the North' Pole/* =••''•• '"• ^>' •...;;/-j ;ii',.;'. . iij ' I ■ ^■: I..' I 39 In the first place, Captain Party says—'' The practicability of reaching the Pdle, appears to me to tnrti whollif on the question of re50fcrce«. This being the case^ it would very soon become a matter of scientific calculation^ whether or not the object was within reach of the resources, with which the party was fomished, so that thdy might at any time proceed or return, according to circumstances.** 2d. ''The summer temperature of the Polar Regions is by no means uncomfortable.** 3dt '* If open water should frequently ocent, it is dhvayi sure to he smooth ; and, if otherwise, a boat hauled up on a floe of ice, is as secure as on shore.** ' 4tb. '' The more open water is found, the more easy would be the accomplishment of the enter- prize ; and, taking the chances of such occasUmal assistance, I cannot but entertain a confident bope^ that the whole might be coinpleted by the end of August** Turns whbtty on the question of Resources ! If that is the case, nothing can be so easy and certain as success ; for it is but making sure of having a ^«^cte^ qtUmtity along with him, and adequate fheans bf tonveyance. Now, if there be no land between Spitsbergen^ and the Pole (the Reviewer says, and he, of course, knowa best, tit as much, as any one), there cam be fio icet This lba$ his opinion in 181 3, imd^ there- fore, GapUun Bnchadwas dispatched in a «Atpy to proceed by way of the Pole, towards Behriog*s Strait, und^r the belief ^f ih^re being no ice, and that the Sea wbuld b^ lidmgabh to the Pole. » But, ""^h- 1 1^ ; I 40 fiMOy H it deeofted tower to midce the attempt in smaUer crqfit, , Yet, if tlie winds and enrrent ahonld happen to fn-evail from the fwrihu>ard,it will be a work, not; oi,piain^ but . of traverse sailing for about 600 miles; and, therefore, the resources, tfic haats may faU short '6^/ore they* reach the Pole. And as the frequent occurrence of ** open water,** ((^there should he ice), is expected by.Capt. Parry to be. ''occasional assistance,^ and the more. open water is found, the easier would he thd accom- plishment of the enterprize,** even in boats furnished with sledges : Ae evidently hopes to find, (what the Reviewer expects he wiUJind)^ an expanse of sea without ice at all, if possible ; or, at all events, the less the better. Thus clearly preferring water to ice^ as a medium^ and sledge boats to a ship, as a m4ide of conveyance for his party and resources i But| UNDER. THBSB ciRCUMSTANCBS, whftt scaman does not see, at once,.that the service would be performed with more facility, dispatch, and cer- tainty, in .a ship^ than in these vehicles if For, if the practicability of reaching the North Pole ready turns (as it appears to Captain Parry) ** wholly on the question of Resources^* "those in a ship might surely be so ample, as to render iht ** scientific calculation** needless t Since the return of the Dorothea, in 1818, there may, for aught I know, have been some new light thrown on the space to be passed from Spitz- bergen to the Pole ; yet, as no one has been there,' it cannot be the light of experience there, but a change of opinion, founded only on the observa^ tion of facts elsewhere. But^conclusions, though :.> '^ '^VA-,, 41 tv' ■rt- 8, w z- •«, a Br I right in themselves, and fairly drawil from certain facts obaerved in one place,, may. be quite iiiappli* cable to a locality, and circumstances ti^icie^/ dif-* ferent. . The worth of an opinion depends oa the judgment of the person who gives it, and, the quantum of his experience and knowledge to form that* judgment by, correctly. Captain Parry has hitherto navigated in the Polar Regions, only in narrow .and confined spaces, surrounded almost by land, where the water must, consequently, be always smooth. Presuming on this local and confined experience, he has been tempted to assert, in positive terms, that " if open water** should- frequently occur (in the Sea of Spitzbergen, and between that land and the Pole)» *'it 18 always sure to be smooth.** But this is mere assertion. He has ventured beyond the limits of his experience. It is an assertion, too^ quite at variance with the. local experience, of hundreds who have navigated in the Spitzbergen Sea; but we need only, instance Mr. Scoresby and Captain Buchan. Did the former find it so, when, (at page 349, of his second. Volume, of his " Account of. the Arctic Regions,**) he thus des- cribes the effects of a gale of wind from the South-south-east in that Sea?— "The Sea Iras so mountainous, that the mast heads of some accompanying ships, within the distance of a quar- ter of a mile, were /intercepted, and rendered in- visible by the swells { and our ship frequently; rolled the. lee boats in the water, that yrtte sus- pended with their keels, above the ronghtree rail i at the tametime^' we were rapidly approadiltigA fW^ I, I i I I ) 42 broductiveL of utility, could never have the retui^i anticipated^ Each has been un^ dertiaken,; and may again be ^prpsecuted, under the delusivel expectation : of. its becoibing .^ fra^ y trying to extract truth from the errors .U .has been: mixed up with, by ;>. i 1 1 • J ;.;•.. i, I ]:/,'■•; ivvjii: ^ ,; i • ^ ;;::' ^ <' Bnt, ^ety^l 'lont they will bofqoite saflicient to 6ohvipce ^at)i)or any !itoa//0tv ■qf/aci .ireasoner^^owferfe^ly deaif and. oonaisteht bavei been the ideas' iand Tiews. of their inthors, ^m akt to las^AM^ the ^intevesting question** {el«Nort,h •:;,!::'! ,:i;Il ni viulijfl :,;;;:riitli/. OVJ I 4 ^- • • 07 i i !.. ^i W' i •• -^ > • ' «' • ' ^ svOiUO' ^^\ <» L »i. Oli 4l .*/*■, I • ■ t-' ■r i »' • -I i:. ( i. .-AV >,/«>» or • i iii ■Kj )'j /<:\< l! . t ' . « ■ j.i ■,:) luVf'Ai'n t>; < u: ii .r.i"<>|%); i:.!;* M a,'/. . '.I :u I iB' i' X 60 I. ,i-'>.»j-r» M^JiVI J, I- .'*^'»* ■ i ill : '' vi' ;:'.*5i 'A ■ 1 ♦ I l>. t\ :o.:V. *iV. i ■..J' li' Oj 'l»!<>Viiit.t*;> i> r /fiib .?> ^itiijii.'i!V'*i 13' ill ili.:i ■;il l> ••-(1 <:! 'Ill «, ij^r. J(.-. ! • • > ' 4i . ■ ^ o o; m *.• , V. '.1 ffPPPP IJ. r!> "W>- J- U,l rii ;jf n 180 ■:::■' » Ave mde win tteht horSy ttonr. niUiJ. (I Mill' ' r.".vv^ «•• "1 ytil-lli.'' ,,;i. ;..»Wl >;,.';• I !." f ?;• t ^- (.y i>